Onesided
by BlackMajjicDuchess
Summary: It took him years, but Kiba finally worked up the courage to ask his teammate out once he realized Naruto wasn't going to. Oneshot.


**One-sided**

* * *

He loved her. He had always loved her, ever since they were put on the same team. He'd come to respect her quiet way, the silent strength that she nurtured, and the way she still loved her family even after all they had put her through. At first, he was her friend. They were twelve, after all. He wasn't even all that interested in girls, then.

Then, there were a hundred ways that she was put in danger, and he hated it. That was the first time he realized how much he had cared. It was stupid, he knew. They were Shinobi; danger was an ever-present companion in their world. She would always be in danger, and who was he to think that he could just always be there for her, protecting her from harm? It didn't even matter how hard she trained, or how she strong she became. Every word said in anger in her general direction had him on edge, ready to rip out throats.

Everyone knew she loved Naruto, had never even considered being with anyone else. The only person who apparently didn't know was Naruto himself. But Kiba was a good friend and an honorable person. As far as he was concerned, Hinata had been claimed. He never even let her know how he felt. It felt wrong to tell her such a thing. It would only confuse her. He wanted her to _choose_ him.

Then, when Naruto was engaged in a battle and probably about to die, Hinata stepped in. She showed real strength that day, placing her life on the line to save Naruto and confessing her love. _This is it_, he thought, _I've finally lost her forever._ Only an idiot could set her aside after that.

And only an idiot did. No sooner had she confessed her love and nearly died in the process of saving his life than Naruto had moved on to other things like saving the world. It took him forever to even talk to her again, and when he did, it was like he'd forgotten all about her heartfelt confession of love. She didn't tell anyone, but that had crushed her. Kiba saw it in her subdued expression. She'd miss when someone asked her a question and write it off as being tired. Everyone believed her except for him.

And finally, he had the courage to ask her out. She'd been surprised, of course, and didn't accept right away, but a few days later she did. They went to a tea shop and shared a nice, floral tea and appetizers, chatting about this or that. He didn't care, so long as she was talking to him like this. He kissed her goodnight—nothing too fancy, just a goodnight kiss—and howled his victory to the night air when she'd gone inside flushed red from head to toe.

And then, a few months later, he found himself in a sparkly store, surrounded by the most important gemstones on earth: diamonds. He talked to three of the sales associates before he could decide on one he thought she would like. He decided it was perfect. It was pretty, but tasteful. It was practical (no mile-high diamonds that could get caught on clothing). He paid the woman at the counter. It cost him about a year's worth of mission loot, but the purchase was worth so much more to him. He spent every night twirling it in his fingers, observing how it sparkled when the light shone on it. He even thought about having it polished to make sure it was at its best on that day, but decided he was being just a little too obsessive about it. He carried it with him everywhere, waiting for the right moment.

And then one day, when he showed up at her house to pick her up, his hand wrapped around the box in his pocket, he was just a little too late. The door opened, and Naruto emerged with Hinata in tow. She was blushing profusely as usual, but her smile was so pure and beautiful that he felt his heart break. She was precisely where she wanted to be, and nothing else in the entire world mattered to her right now but that Naruto held her hand.

It wasn't her fault; it was his. He had tried to woo a woman whose heart was already imprinted on another man. She had always been in love with Naruto. He couldn't even blame Naruto, because Naruto was always an idiot who didn't see subtle details like who was dating who. It was his own damned fault.

Just then, Hinata spied him and stopped. "Kiba!" she said, surprised. "I'm sorry, I forgot we were hanging out today. Catch you tomorrow?"

It dawned on him then that he had never really made it clear exactly how he'd felt about her. Is that all she had thought, the whole time? That they had been hanging out? What did she think the kissing was about, then? Perhaps she didn't know that people who were just friends didn't kiss one another. Whatever had happened, it was done. He adopted a fake smile. "Sure, Hinata. No problem. Catch you tomorrow."

She smiled and walked away, rendering the box in his pocket a very expensive souvenir of the happiest four months of his entire life. Even after all of it, he couldn't even be angry. Just... devastated.

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**A/N: **Made me a little sad to write this one... but I do imagine this might be what it's like if Hinata and Kiba ever started dating. I don't think she'd be mean enough to just dump someone for someone else no matter what, I just imagine that if Naruto ever said "hey, I'm interested" she'd forget about anyone else instantly. I do think there'd be another scenario where Kiba would get her back, though. I'm considering writing it.

EDIT (8-13-12): I actually did start writing that. It's going to have a lot in common with this one AND The Perfect Surprise (there's some subtle angst in there, too). I even kept the bartender the same. ^_^ We'll see how it goes! I'll post the name of it here when it's finished so that way if you're interested in reading it, you'll know what you're looking for (though I've never really written a Kiba fic, so it shouldn't be hard to figure it out).

Did you like this?


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